A House Divided
by Draconian Calocor
Summary: The House of Winter has suffered attacks from all sides. The Vex and Hive fight to destroy them mindlessly, and the Guardians are fighting to attempt to reclaim what is theirs. But the Fallen of the House have another matter to deal with. With the death of their Kell, and no Servitor god, they are starving. The enemy of my enemy is my friend the humans say. Are they?
1. Chapter 1

**Because there isn't much lore on the Fallen and how they work besides the fact they are vaguely insectoid, and have houses and Barons and kells and such, I made up some things to suit the story. I am going to try and place this close to the lore though, since I do find that Destiny has a great universe that simply isn't elaborated enough upon. Anyways, enjoy.**

* * *

For as long as human memory serves, there has been war. War amongst humans, and war against non-humans. The battles of darkness against light, and wars of survival. But now, what is there but the war torn, the scattered remnants of once great cities, their majesty lost to time and strife. That is all that was left in the wake of war, but not all that came after. From the depths of space, they came. The houses of the Fallen, here to pillage and claim all that had once been humanity's great achievements in the stars. In the wake of our great collapse and the fall of the Traveler, the Fallen came in their ships, their Ketches to seize all they could of humanity. The Fallen claim to be mercenaries and guns for hire, yet they fight us with a dogmatic fanaticism that the dictators of history would thirst for with an unbearable hunger. Yet they did not find an easy battle, no perfect slaughter for them to lord over. Instead they found the Guardians, and the Guardians showed them death.

But even with the many strikes against the Fallen, the Guardians are few and precious, each of their lights a shield against the inevitable return of the darkness. With the healing of the Traveler however, their light grows ever brighter, but they remain few. The forces of the Cabal, the Vex, the Fallen, and the Hive still tower over our lights with their darkness. But even in the darkness, there is light. For without the light, there would be no darkness.

* * *

High above the surface of the moon, the Hell-Mouth an insignificant speck far below, hung the Ketch of the House of Winter. Deep within the bowels of the ship, a heated voice raged.

"We cannot continue on as we have! We will all die! There will be no more House, no more Servitors, and no Kell!" A voice roared in the dimly lit room.

The command deck of the ship hung deep within the belly of the Ketch, allowing it to be protected within, though while it was safe from outside attack, fighting within would be just as deadly. The dim lights flickered for a moment before brightening again to reveal the inhabitants. Six different Fallen stood around a table, a holographic map of the surface of the moon gently glowing in the midst of their meeting. The Fallen who had spoken wore the unmistakable marks of a baron, his heavy cloak hanging over his shoulders and falling low, almost to touch the cold metal of the ship floor below. The duel blades hanging from his waist a sign of his skill and power. The others around him appeared similarly, all dressed in the garbs of their house, yet they all remained silent.

Unperturbed the baron continued on with his heated words. "At our very doorstep lay both the Hive, and the Vex! The blasted humans continue to hound our efforts as well! Our attempt to rescue the priest only led to his death, and more losses of both troops and servitors!" The baron's glowing blue eyes swept across the room, the optical quad stopping on each of the other barons before he let out a breath and continued on after the silence had once more filled the room. His voice softened as he spoke once more. "We are starving. Our god has died long ago. The other houses will not save us, they would only take what is left of use from our dead fingers."

"And what do you know of the other houses!?" An angry female voice suddenly spoke out from the far right of the room. One of the barons stepping forward, eyes softly glowing with rage held back, not out of fear, but out of respect. "Baron Vaxis, you do not know the other houses. You spend all your time below, stuck in craters and dead ruins. You barely know your own house! This is only the second time we have even seen you, all of us. You should not even hold your own rank!" The female baron growled deep within her helmet. The heavy cuts and scratches along her armor indication of many hard fought battles, and not all of them victory.

"Baron Kilxis, enough." A deep voice boomed from the left side of the table. A massive form of another baron stood slowly from his seated position. Climbing to his feet, the heavily armored baron of old let out a heavy breath before his eyes fixed upon first Baron Kilxis and then fell upon Baron Vaxis. "Vaxis, while you have proven yourself, and while what you say has truth, we have in the past known the kindness of our brethren. For it was the house of Devils who helped us in our attempts to rescue the Archon Priest. While they did request recompense, we would have done the same in their position. Sepikis-3 was our only god, yet it fell long ago, and there was no evidence to say that the priest would have been able to revive our fallen lord. Yet, if he had we would have been once more upon the path to glory." The old Baron said, his voice filling the entire room with his presence, despite the softness of his actual tone. "So please, do not so easily place us alone without allies."

Silence once more filled the room as the old Baron looked back and forth between Vaxis and Kilxis. However before the old Baron could continue onwards, another voice spoke. A voice that would send a chill down the spine of even a Guardian. A shorter Baron than the rest stepped forward into the light and shifted the attention unto him. His armor a darker color than the others, almost a solid metallic grey. His cape ragged and torn from uncaring use and his armor bore almost no scars or scratches. "We could perhaps… seek out the one who long ago led us to these planets. The ones the House of Devils hold in such high… regard." His oily voice trailed off as his arms clasped behind his back.

Baron Vaxis narrowed his glowing eyes and folded his lower set of arm while he pointed at the speaker with his upper right arm. "Baron Arcanis, while you are our equal, you speak of something none of us understand. You propose something that could be our undoing and not our salvation. So with the respect of a fellow baron, be silent." While Vaxis kept his voice steady, the unspoken hatred was palpable.

"Coming from you Vaxis, that means little." Kilxis said with a scowl easily heard within her words. The passive neutrality of their armor and clothing may have fooled an outsider into thinking they spoke as equals, but the hatred and rivalries of the Fallen hierarchy raged just as strongly among the House of Winter as among the other houses.

Vaxis ignored his fellow Baron and continued unabashed. "It may be time we consider an ally outside of our own." Kilxis let out a cackle and looked at him, her upper arms crossing while her lower arms rested on her hips. "Who? The Cabal? THE VEX!? The very Hive itself?! You have clearly lost your mind if you think to find allies among them. They would prefer to destroy us, not ally with us. The only one willing to listen would be the Cabal, and their legion would use us as slaves before all else." Kilxis said with barely restrained rage.

Vaxis closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Yes, he had thought about all of it. The hive lived… or un-lived, depending on how you looked at them, only to serve their god; that blasted sword wielding monster Crota. The Cabal would only use them as slave labor in their military machine called an empire. The Vex would attempt to destroy them as they always did, and their own brethren… He had secretly been trying to form alliances with the other houses to little avail. The others would either benefiting from their destruction and claim both the moon and Venus as their territory, or they would only assist them if they became vassals of their house. Vaxis knew the other barons of winter would never allow that. He himself would rather die than lose his houses honor. But if his house died because he refused to assist it out of stubborn pride. That left them with two possible factions. The awoken could not be trusted. After what they had done to the house of wolves… Vaxis refused to try and form any sort of bond with them save for his blade connecting with their monstrous queen's neck. That left…

"The Guardians."

Stunned silence filled the room as every baron's gaze fell upon Vaxis. Kilxis made a strangled chocking noise as though her ability to speak had been stolen by Vaxis' statement. The old baron simply gazing at him in thoughtful silence. Arcanis had apparently been shocked into a complete stupor, as he simply stood their gazing at Vaxis as though his second pair of arms had suddenly become wooden and started talking.

The hiss of a blade leaving is sheath filled the silence as Vaxis leapt backwards to avoid being skewered by the strike aimed for his heart. Baron Kilxis was advancing on him, her eyes glowing with fury and her voice shaking with rage beyond control. "You would enslave us to the human like the House of Wolves to the Awoken!? You are mad, you must be put down, and I will take pleasure in making you silent!" The female roared angrily.

Vaxis growled deep within his chest and drew his blades before starting to stalk towards Kilxis who had her own blades poised to strike and stood her ground, more than eager to meet her rival's blade with her own. "Try it. See why I have never lost an arm." Vaxis warned with venom dripping from his words.

Before the two could cross blades however, Arcanis once more spoke. "He may be mad, but he is right about one thing. None of the other races will help us, and the other houses would use our death to their advantage. However, there is another force besides the guardians we could seek out. But before you two gut each other, we need to handle the matter most pressing. We have no Kell, and no Servitor. With the death of Draksis, we are left with a power vacuum that must be filled before we are able to move forward. And only the Kell could choose for the house what is best."

Kilxis stopped her advance on Vaxis and looked at Arcanis. "And who would be this new kell?" Suspicion filling her voice as she looked at the smallest Baron. The three other barons who had been speaking softly amongst themselves stepped forward. The three seemed to move in unison and held themselves at the same height and surety of one who knew his victory was assured.

Arcanis turned to the three and the smile could be heard on his voice. "Barons Ix, Klix and Nix. Do you have a thought for this matter?" The trio glanced at each other before speaking in unison. "A new Kell must be chosen, and we must find allies." The three turned to the older Baron who had once more taken his seat. "We elect for Baron Arcanis to become Kell." Vaxis and Kilxis stopped in unison and turned to look at the shorter baron in their midst.

Vaxis felt his anger grow even higher as he turned to face his fellow Baron, his grip on his blades growing tighter still. "Never!" However it wasn't the voice of Vaxis who spoke, but the voice of Kilxis who cried out in anger. The only living female baron of the House of Winter exuded rage like a physical cloud of hate. "You would led us into the darkness of the beyond and find for ourselves only death and corruption!" Vaxis blinked at her in shock and surprise, from the looks of it Arcanis was just as surprised by her outburst.

"You side with Vaxis?" He asked in confusion.

She let out a harsh laugh that sounded more like a mechanical coughing hack than an attempt at laughter. Her eyes trained on Arcanis for a moment before she shook her head. "Oh no, I hate Vaxis, but I hate you more. You conniving worm, you do not battle, you have your underlings do it for you, you have no honor to speak of, and if not for Draksis having his use for you, I would have slit your cowardly throat long ago for all your scheming."

Vaxis stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and looking back at Arcanis. "You will not control the House, Arcanis. You are not one who is worthy of leading the Fallen to our rightful glory. You would even forsake the gods who give us our very life in your quest for power. We all know you spend your nights trying to dissect our once proud god. Were it not for your rank, we would have silenced you long ago."

Arcanis simply chuckled and waved a hand like one who was simply swatting away one of the insufferable earth creatures known as flies. "It matters little what you think Baron Vaxis. Unless you have someone elect you to candidate, you will be silent. This is a matter of tradit-"

"Be silent insect." But it wasn't the voice of Vaxis or Kilxis who interrupted Arcanis, but instead the voice of the old Baron.

"Baron Tyran I-" Arcanis was once again cut off by Tyran. "Shut up before I cut off your head and mount it on one of my drop ships. While tradition cannot be ignored, I will not have you and your lackeys take control simply by having three Barons under you thumb." He glared at the silent trio who stood calmly behind Arcanis. How he had convinced all of them to support him he couldn't guess; he knew the triplet barons were all of one opinion, but they were normally a stubborn lot and disliked speaking with anyone but each other.

"I elect Vaxis as future Kell." Baron Tyran said calmly as he stood up from his seat.

"What!?" The voice of Kilxis cried out in outrage. "Baron Tyran while I agree with not making Aranis Kell, Vaxis is-"

Tyran cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Kilxis, we will talk about this later, but just believe me when I say that Vaxis is our best choice. I am too old to lead with the fervent need that Draksis did, and nor do I have the charisma of Draksis either. However, I know that making you Kell, Arcanis," His gaze fixed back on the other Baron, "would be a mistake. So I move to make Vaxis Kell of Winter. As father of the lower house of frost, I cast my two votes for both Draksis, as he is not alive to choose a successor and as my own vote to Vaxis."

Vaxis looked at the old baron in surprise and a great deal of respect, and when he spoke, there was a smile in his voice. "Thank you Baron Tyran."

"Don't let it get to you, I am doing this for the good of the house, not because I think you are worthy of this position. You're just the only one who is good enough to fill it at the moment." The old baron let out a sigh and sat back down. "So that's three votes to two. Kilxis, your vote is all that is left."

The female Baron could be heard grinding the blade of her sword against the table in frustration. It was clear she didn't like the position she was in, as she clearly despised both individuals. However, she knew the right choice, even if she hated to admit it. "My vote… goes to Vaxis." She growled, practically chewing each word before spitting it out.

"Then its three to three and we have no successor." Arcanis could be heard scowling with every word he spoke. "We are at an impasse." The room fell silent once more as the barons all looked at each other, none able to speak as there were no words to be said.

"Where is Baron Grayliks then, he was called to the meeting and his vote is needed?" Kilxis queried as she took her place once again, her gazed fixed on the map of the moon.

The hissing of the door to the room opening slid open and a captain came in sprinting in, the indication of his status clear by his dramatic decrease in size compared to the Barons. The Captain glanced around the room before speaking, his voice loud and carrying so that all could hear. "News. Baron Grayliks, Winter Baron, is dead. His cloak has been recovered and his successor named." Footsteps could be heard coming towards the command room as a slim captain entered the room, a female, wearing the heavy cloak of Baron Grayliks. "I present to you, Baron Grayliks daughter. Leska'vas. The new Baron Grayliks." The captain bowed and left the room, the door shutting behind him, leaving only the barons in the room. Their towering forms casting a shadow that fell firmly upon Leska'vas. The female captain looked pathetic in comparison to the other Barons, but only because her body had yet to undergo the growth process that only a baron would receive.

Baron Tyran chuckled softly as he looked at the new comer. "Fancy that. Looks like the Servitors are looking out for us today. Well then Baron Grayliks, we will have to perform the proper ceremonies and such, but at the moment we have a pressing issue that must be decided now."

She spoke up at that point, the new baron amongst the elder ones. "I know, I was informed already."

Vaxis blinked in surprise and asked the question all of them were suddenly very curious about. "How did you know?"

Grayliks looked at him and he could feel her smiling under her helmet. "I have eyes and ears everywhere Baron Vaxis. I know about what you proposed, and about what Baron Arcanis counter proposes. But the problem of starvation remains. While that unknown being who lead us, in our height to the human city of Carcaras was great, it has long since left. Our god has fallen, and our servitors grow less each day. Only one other faction has the ether we need, and that is the Guardians. I cast my vote with Vaxis."

Baron Arcanis narrowed his eyes though he remained silent. Tyran let out a sigh and stood to his feet once more, both sets of his arms spreading wide as he looked at Vaxis. "Then, as decided by the will of the council of Barons, we name you Baron Vaxis, Kell of the House of Winter. Lead us as you see fit, Kell."

Vaxis looked around the room at each Baron in turn. He looked at Tyran, feeling the old Fallen's strength, he looked at Baron Kilxis and felt her fury, he looked at the Trio, felt their unison, he looked at Arcanis and felt his knowledge, and he looked at Grayliks, and felt her youth. He slammed his blade into the ground and pointed at the holographic display.

"We head for earth. Let's go see if the Guardians are willing to listen to us."

* * *

High above The City, the glory of the Traveler once more starting to return to the land, The Tower stood watch. In his office at the very top, the speaker calmly read over a report of a strike team that had taken down a Vex network on Mars. Suddenly alarms began to blare through the entire tower, and Guardians began to race about, guns drawn and yelling orders. The Speaker stood up from his seat, and calmly descended the stairs and stopped one of the passing Guardians, a large Titan, dressed for war.

"What is going on?" He asked the Titan calmly.

"It's the Fallen sir. The House of Winter, their Ketch just dropped out of warp next to the city." He responded without a hint of fear in his voice, but instead the bitter determination that came from constant fighting.

The Speaker nodded to the guardian and allowed him to race off to his post. The robed man slowly walked to the balcony looking out across The City and The Traveler. In the distance he could see the shape of the Fallen Vessel. The massive interplanetary ship hovering in place on the far side of the City. Yet, the Traveler didn't react. The Speaker knew that while it was still healing, it would allow no harm to befall humanity while it still had power. Yet it didn't stir from its slumber in the face of such a threat. Tapping his fingers on the railing of the balcony, The Speaker hummed softly. Things were about to get very interesting, that was for certain.

* * *

**So yeah, I dunno why, but I just remember thinking to myself, A house divided... hey the Fallen are organized by houses. And so this popped into my head. I think it turned out well for a first chapter. I think. But if anything crops up let me know, as learning helps one grow. Comments and reviews appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 2

**So, before I say anything else, I should point out that I know next to nothing on how the Fallen work on a gentic level. As a result, I am making guesses based on what is revealed about them. IE, that they can regen parts of their body, and that they can control the growth of their bodies to some extent. This is shown with the Dregs, and how they have their lower arms stunted until they are allowed to reach Vandal rank. Thats about as much as I know, so I worked from their. As for Cayde-6, I based his personality off of both Castle and Buck, for his respective voice actor Nathan Fillion, I also threw in a bit of his work on Firefly. **

**Acnolpgia Prime: Thanks for thinking its cool, means alot.**

**GrimKid98: I think if a hostile alien race suddenly was like, "HEY WE AT YO DOOR!" that anyone would be shocked. **

**DamienStorm23: It is Kilxis, I ended up writing the second half of the story at 1:30am so I ended up mixing up the name, but I changed it back. Thanks for pointing it out though. **

**nite train: Thanks, I hope this story turns out well. I have a very good idea of what I want to do with the plot, so I should be able to flush it out fully. **

**CrazedSkeleton: I think the Fallen are very interesting as well, as they seem the least likely to be serving The Darkness, as they are a race of mercenaries and guns-for-hire, but yet they fight Humanity just as much as the others. As well as the whole, we own all of your planets. All your base belong to us. Etc etc. Hopefully the DLC does give us some deeper info, similar to how Dark Below showed us more Hive.**

* * *

If there was one thing that Cayde-6 hated the most, it was being stuck in this Traveler forsaken tower, and not out in the field. Though that was the story of his life really, stuck in this stupid tower, desperately wishing for something interesting to happen like in the old days before he got the short end of the stick and was made the Hunter Vanguard. The Exo in question was busy staring at a map on the table of the Vanguard meeting room, though in reality he was thinking of other things entirely. Those other things being how he was going to escape this hellish trap of boredom and monotony. Many times he had secretly attempted to get some of the guardians to help him escape out of the tower to adventure. No one listened of course, that would have been too easy. Instead he was stuck here, with… charts. The exo let out a shudder that earned a raised eyebrow from Ikora. Cayde simply waved it off and muttered something about "escape routes" which caused Commander Zavala to roll his eyes. Cayde's constant antics, as the other vanguards called them, were old news by now and nothing more than a chuckle worthy distraction most days. They all knew that while Cayde talked about escaping, and thought about it, he would never abandon his post. Though the Exo would hotly deny that he wouldn't take the first chance to get out of the tower for good. Though the day continued on as normal, nothing more than a few guardians coming in for advice or to deliver a report. Calm, and simple, for the most part. The three were all jerked away from their respective tasks by the sudden flashing strobe light of red and the high pitched alarms suddenly blaring throughout the entire complex of the tower.

The three Vanguards shot each other a look and as one drew their weapons, Commander Zavala being the only one had a proper weapon on hand, that being the auto-rifle he secretly kept under the meeting table. Sometimes Ikora would poke fun at him for being "overly paranoid" as she put it, but in the business of death dealing, it paid to be prepared. Cayde could almost hear the traveler telling him to make a break for the action, but he had enough common sense to stay where he was and at least figure out what was going on before he went out looking for danger. Though that didn't stop him from mouthing off a little bit.

"So… what are the odds that the darkness is back and we are all going to die a horrible pain filled death? I'm betting two to one. Any takers?" He asked with a grin as the knife he always kept strapped inside his cloak came out with a flurry. If the Exo was able to, he would most certainly be grinning.

Ikora simply laughed and shrugged. "Those are some pretty bad odds Cayde. Don't think I will be taking them honestly." However before any of them had a chance to say anything else, the sound of quick moving footsteps grabbed their attention and all of them focused their attention on the hallway leading to the room. A heavy clicking sound being the only indication that Zavala had retrieved his weapon and was ready to fire the large caliber assault rifle on whatever came through the door. The others were likewise prepared, Ikora already beginning to glow the strange inky dark that many of the voidwalkers showed moments before their powers were unleashed.

"I hope I won't be eviscerated if I decided to step in, will I?" A soft and calm voice queried through the hallway. Moments later the form of the Speaker came into view and stepped into the room. Zavala lowered his weapon and let out a breath. "No, you won't, though mind telling us what is going on? No one has reported anything, and all the coms are filled with too much chatter to figure anything out. "

The Speaker clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the three Vanguards before letting out a breath. "It is the Fallen House of Winter. Their ketch dropped out of warp on the very borders of The Wall. Cayde glanced over at Zavala and could see the man visibly bristle. The Titans were the guardians of The Wall, and they had never failed in their duty, even if it cost them their lives. A threat to The Wall, and The City was a direct threat and challenge to every living Titan, as well as an insult to all that had fallen. "Well… that's not good." The Exo said rather lamely.

The Speaker looked at him and nodded. "Indeed, though that is not the current issue. The Fallen are not attacking. They are holding their position and are issuing a singular message on all channels. We have had the ghosts translating it, and it is rather… interesting."

"Well don't keep us in suspense. Are we going to have to bomb some Fallen? My bet is yes." Cayde said as he slid his blade back into its holster. "Cayde, not the time for jokes. We have a Fallen Ketch sitting on our heads, and one of those things has enough troops to do serious damage to the wall, and we cannot afford for any damage to come to the Traveler. It has only just started to properly heal." Zavala said, his heavy scowl causing lines to draw across his face. It caused him to look much, much older, like a man who was spread to far, and to thin.

"Ok ok, I get it, serious time. No one gets to joke and we all put on our glare faces. I will need to weld some eyebrows on so I can scowl." He said with a nod, as though he meant what he said. Zavala simply rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips, though it did earn a snort of laughter from Ikora. "What is the message Speaker?" Ikora asked, the smile staying on her face after Cayde managed to relieve the tension in the room, and raised an eyebrow.

"… They wish to speak with us."

The three vanguards stared at him before Cayde voiced what they all were thinking. "Uhhh… what?"

Letting out a heavy sigh the Speaker nodded his head. "According to the Ghosts who translated the message. The Fallen Kell of Winter wishes to have an audience with us. Apparently he is willing to go to an area of our choosing, and unarmed. Though they will undoubtedly have more than one of their stealth vandals watching the meeting. We will be doing the same of course."

"Wait, you actually are agreeing to this?" Zavala asked, completely flabbergasted at the Speakers words. "Sir, with all due respect," "Which really means 'are you insane' heh." Cayde muttered earning a glare from Zavala. "But this is clearly a trap of some sort. The Fallen –do not- talk to us. They try and kill us, that's it. I have lost count of the number of Guardians that we have lost to the Fallen in the past. I do not know why they are attempting this, but it can't be good. I say that we take the artillery launchers stationed in the wall, and test out how many shots it takes to destroy a ketch."

Letting out a weary sigh, The Speaker shook his head. He had expected as much, and he couldn't blame them at all. Ever since the Collapse the Fallen had hounded humanity. The House of Devil's burning London, and the House of Winter attacking Carapas. Yet… the Traveler did not stir in the face of this threat. It had to mean something, and the message… he simply could not ignore it. "Be that as it may, the Traveler has not woken to face them. If this was a true threat to humanity and the guardians, its light would have begun to blaze and the Fallen would be no more. Yet, here they stand, alive, and unhindered. I think it is a sign, and I desire for you to meet with the Kell, and find out what it is they have to say. I believe the risk is worth the reward."

Human, Exo, and Awoken all locked eyes and nodded as one. They could not defy the Speaker, voice of the Traveler. It would be like defy the Traveler itself, and they would never attempt that. "So… does that mean I get to leave the tower?" Cayde voiced casually, though everyone in the room knew there was nothing casual about it.

The robbed voice of the Traveler let out a short laugh and nodded. "Yes Cayde, you are going to leave the tower. You three are our best, and if anything should arise, it would be you who could escape it to warn us. That said-"

The Speaker was suddenly cut off by an outcry of "Freedom! Sweet, Traveler blessed freedom!" The voice belonging to Cayde-6 who had both is arms up in the air, hands clenched into fist and looking as though he was just told the Darkness was defeated and he was the big god damn hero. The Speaker blinked under his mask and glanced at Ikora and Zavala, both of whom simply smiled and shrugged in unison. "He has been cooped up for a while." Was the only explanation that he received.

"Hmm, indeed. Well either way, we have your sparrows prepared. Good luck to you, oh and before I forget. If you don't come back, we will give you a nice funeral." The Speaker said with a smile in his voice before striding out of the room.

"Ha… umm… do you think he was serious?" Cayde asked looking at his two companions with slight worry in his voice. "He doesn't think we are going to die right? Right?" He didn't get a single reply, though he swore he saw Ikora trying to hide a smile.

* * *

In the wind blown junkyard of dead vehicles and forgotten metal, on the very outskirts of the wall, a similar conversation was occurring. "They are not going to listen to you Vaxis. Any second now, we are going to see a very large gun point right at us, and then your stupid plan is going to be burning." The unhappy female voice declared, her gaze fixed on the massive construct of stone and metal that towered above them. Vaxis Kell of Winter, formerly Baron Vaxis, stood atop the rusting remains of what he could only assume was an ancient form of human war vehicle. The heavy metal and hatches on it giving it a sturdy look, as well as the heavy treads on either side, or the long barrel mounted on the front, all of it speaking of war. Though it was far too rusted to ever be of any use again, but it did speak of battle long ago lost in this place.

"Kilxis. Not the time." Vaxis grumbled. His entire body felt as though it was being stabbed and burned, all stemming from the various injections he had rapidly undergone only hours before the trip to the surface. The hormones he had been injected full of were specifically crafted to allow his body to become faster, stronger, and tougher than any Baron or Archon priest. Creating a Kell was not a pleasant experience, especially for the Kell themselves. The result? Constant pain, and he was unable to apply any form of painkiller as it would interfere with the growth. His fang like teeth grit beneath the helmet as he ground his elaborate blade into the top of the metal vehicle. The mostly ceremonial sword was the status of his rule, and currently his only weapon. He normally would have left it on the Ketch though he had taken it with him in his hurry to get to the surface. In all honesty, he had to admit it wasn't much more than an ornate plasma blade, very similar to the ones Vandals and Captains carried. The only difference being the slightly ornate grip. He was also dressed in a newer set of armor, forgoing the armor of a Baron for that of a Kell. Heavy tubing trailing from his helmet to his armored suit, controlling the intake of air and controlling the atmosphere, and the heavy helmet acquiring what would appear to be horns of metal and wire. While most would see it as decoration, it was actually used to interface with every com system that had Fallen technology in it in the area, as well as monitor all systems of the ketch. He swore he could feel his bones breaking and knitting back together constantly. He didn't feel like a Kell, he felt terrible.

His pain was interrupted when a small beeping alerted him to the triggering of their motion sensor system set in the entrance to the junkyard. He grit his teeth and threw his sword to Kilxis who nearly slammed into the car behind her trying to hold it. The massive blade was almost as tall as she was, meant to be wielded with both hands on one side. Vaxis swore he could hear her mutter something along the lines of "trying to impale me" along with a string of curses that would have made an Archon Priest blanch. He turned to look back towards the entrance and in the distance he could see the faint trails of dust billowing behind the Guardians' sparrows. The swift scout vehicles lacking all weapons, but faster than anything that either the Cabal or the Fallen could craft. If there was one thing that Vaxis could appreciate about the Guardians was their speed. They never sent in a large squad, the most ever recorded recently being six to a squad, and they hit hard and fast, killing everything and making sure their target was destroyed before reinforcements could be scrambled. He could respect that efficacy, but not much else about them. Then again… what did he really know about them? The answer being, not much. He knew they were made up of three types, though it didn't appear to be any system of rank. The Titans, from what he could gather they were the ones closet to Fallen captains. They held the heaviest armor and were often at the forefront of the fight. Then there were the Hunters, comparable to the Vandals in a way. Light, quick moving, and often times attacking from range. The last, was also the least understood, in fact Vaxis often wondered if they even understood themselves, and that was the Warlocks. They wielded powers similar to the Vex and Hive, powers of darkness and fire and Vaxis hated them. They were unnatural, something that wasn't supposed to exist. No single being should wield a power such as this. Only the Servitors should or could use powers such as this. But what of them then, were they any better for worshipping their gods, and hating the guardians for their power?

Vaxis was snapped out of his thoughts by a particularly nasty spasm that ran through his lower left arm, causing him to clench his hand into a fist so hard the armor left out a soft chink as it cracked slightly. He glanced at it, watching the small trickle of blood seep out before looking around. Kilxis had vanished from sight, though her designation on his HUD's radar clearly showed her not very far away, most likely cloaked. 'She never was one for being in the center of the field.' He thought dully before he glanced up at the roaring of engines as three sparrows sped around the corner of a large pile of cars. Vaxis narrowed his eyes, watching with caution as the three dismounted their vehicles and began to walk towards him. Each was armed and armored, and he could see they were clearly looking for signs of a trap, it was what he would do. When they reached him, and he looked down on their much smaller forms, he was impressed they had the gall to stand before him with such… confidence. From how they held themselves, it looked as if they had no doubt they would be able to kill him. He wondered if perhaps they could.

One of the Guardians called out to him, their strange garbled speech making his head spin already, and he crossed his arms and stared at them for a moment before speaking himself. "I do not understand you, Guardian."

His comment was met with glances among themselves and a shrug from the one who was clearly a Titan. Vaxis' gaze snapped to the flash of light as one of their drones blinked into existence. These were something that even Vaxis could admit, the Guardians did better than anyone, and that was their drones. He believed they called them ghosts, similar to shanks, only without any combat skills. From what they gathered from various battles and raids, the Guardians used them to crack security systems and steal information at an incredible rate. They had never understood how the humans created them, for any time they had managed to capture one, it simply vanished moments after they reactivated it. The Kell stared at the machine for a moment before it made the same garbled sounds the humans made before suddenly changing through several languages, including the strange grunting noises the Cabal made, and a few others, finally changing into the Fallen tongue that Vaxis understood. "You are the Kell of Winter?" it asked.

The mechanized recording of his tongue made Vaxis' skin crawl, it wasn't right, the Fallen language coming from a guardian machine but he set that aside to respond. "Yes, who are you?"

The small drone turned back to the three guardians and abruptly switched back to the human language causing the robed guardian to nod. From what he could tell, it was female. If the odd chest and slimmer body was any indication. She was the next to speak at him, and again the machine translated her words for him. "What did you want to talk to us about, Fallen?"

The Fallen Kell frowned, at having his question ignored but that was understandable, he himself wanted this conversation to be over quickly, he swore his organs were rearranging themselves. Vaxis ground his teeth in pain as his body shivered from the chemicals in his system, but regained his composure to speak. "We are here… to offer… an alliance." Despite all this being his plan, and despite him being elected Kell to see it happen, Vaxis had to admit, he still didn't like admitting his people needed help. It left a bad taste in his mouth.

For a few seconds, there was no sound but the wind. Then the machine turned back to the guardians and relayed the message. Again, there was silence as the Guardians seemed to simply stare at him. Finally, a single one spoke, the one draped in a long cloak and hood over a sleek helmet. Without even seeing the Guardians face, he could hear the mechanized voice, another one of the human machines. The other two guardians instantly turned to look at their companion, their garbled speech fast and completely unintelligible. Vaxis could almost feel his eyes crossing from trying to understand it. However, the cloaked one cut them off and looked directly at Vaxis himself. He nodded once, and the Kell of Winter didn't need the machine to translate to understand what had been meant by the cloaked Guardian.

The voice of the ghost spoke again, filling the air with the Fallen language and causing Vaxis to shift slightly. "We are willing to accept, for the moment. However, we are going to require more details."

Vaxis visibly relaxed at the news the Guardians at least were willing to listen, it meant his house had a chance to survive the starvation that was beginning to set in. The grumbling from the dregs and vandals was starting to turn resentful at the barons. Vaxis almost smiled under his helmet before his eyes noticed something. A small blip on his radar showing that something had just breached the perimeter, but it hadn't triggered the same warning that the Guardians had, meaning that the intruder was Fallen. But no one from his house was allowed into this meeting besides the single stealth unit that Kilxis was leading. Before Vaxis even had a moment to think about it, a brief flash of light caught his attention, and then his world exploded into pain.

* * *

**So that is part two, I am not completely sure how long this story will be, but I am thinking at least ten or so chapters, not sure. I have a lot I want to put in, as well as some speculation on various things in the environment of various planets and some of the Crucible maps. Also, I love cliffhangers. Don't you? Hue. Either way, comments are appreciated, as well as feedback and information about the Fallen that I may have messed up. I try to stay as accurate as possible. Anyways, now I fly away... weeeeeeee... -fwoosh-. **


	3. Chapter 3

**So im really sorry this took so long to do. I just got busy and never got back to writing this until these last couple of days. Warlords of Draenor, work, school, Destiny, Resident Evil HD, all these things adding up to me just not writing anything at all. Bleh. Well anyways, here is the next bit. Again, any and all criticism is welcome, comments are also welcome! Oh, fun fact. I had originally meant to do this story using the Fallen on the moon, who I THOUGHT were the house of winter. GUESS WHO IS DUMB!? ME CAUSE THE FALLEN ON THE MOON ARNT HOUSE OF WINTER! DEEEEEEEEEEERP. But I think this works out better, as it was stated in the wiki that the house of winter lost their servitor god, so the whole starving thing fits!  
**

**nite train: Yeah, apparently getting shot hurts, and sucks. Or so I am told! **

**Acnologia Prime: Lol, yeah I have been using the destiny wiki and the other destiny wiki to get all my information on the Fallen. If I think of anything or if I get anything wrong, you can hit me up on with a PM to correct me =P. **

**Kami No Raijin: Here, haz moar. **

**toraneko-chan: I am not going to lie. The only thing I have managed to finish is one shots. BUT! That is because I had never though the entire plot out. This one, I actually have the entire story in my head, so I know what I want to do with it, so I should be able to do the entire story without messing up and stopping halfway through. **

**Ctornello: I am glad you find it interesting and well written, as I am forever paranoid that whatever I write is terrible and poorly written. Either way, glad you enjoy it.**

* * *

Slow motion, that is the only way to describe the series of actions performed after a blast of energy slammed into the Kell. Kilxis watched with wide eyes as Vaxis tumbled backwards, his shield taking the entire shot, but shattering under the impact. The force of which caused him to stumble backwards off the shell of twisted metal that was once a human vehicle. Before she even realized it, she had begun to fire on the Guardians, no doubt in her mind that they had just attempted to assassinate the Kell. The reaction of the other fallen was instant. Shots immediately began to rein down on the guardians, as they were prepared to shoot them at the first sign of trouble, and wire rifles trained on the sniper in the distance. The ring of energy firing through the air making the entire area smell of ozone as carnage raged. The hail of fire stopped suddenly as the baron waved a cease fire, finally allowing the dust to begin to settle. With a growl of disgust, the female baron jumped down from the ledge overlooking the junkyard, though she nearly lost her balance having to carry the ceremonial sword on her back. She was going to stab Vaxis with it she swore. Rifle raised, cloak engaged, the baron slowly moved to the area where Vaxis had crashed to the ground. Her eyes darted around, movement pinging constantly on her motion tracker, obviously the guardians. She was going to kill Vaxis when she found him! That idiot had been stupid enough to trust the Guardian wretches and what had he got for it? He got shot! If he was still alive she was going to shoot him again, just for forcing her into this whole mess.

She finally moved behind the large metal thing that Vaxis had been standing on, her eyes darting around for signs of hostile movement. However, she had her vandals on over watch, ready to fire at the first thing that moved that was vaguely guardian looking. She ducked behind the tank only to find her throat suddenly being crushed by a massive fist, the crushing force causing her vision to swim towards darkness. She let out a choked gurgle before she was suddenly released and her vision swam back into focus. Vaxis crouched in front of her, his massive form using the various scraps of metal as cover. The female baron coughed several times, desperately trying to force air into her lungs, her eyes glaring angrily at the Kell. "It's me you fool!" She hissed at their leader, rage building in her voice.

"Couldn't tell. That shot overloaded most of my armor's systems." Vaxis muttered as he glanced out from behind the tank. "Do you have my blade?"

"Yes I have your forsaken sword!" She growled heatedly as she unslung the blade and shoved it at Vaxis, who took it easily, as though the huge mass of metal and energy weighed nothing at all. "Now do you believe me when I say you are mentally limited? The guardians shot you! Now can we kill them and leave?" She asked as she glanced around the corner of the tank, the glinting barrel of her rifle raised and steady, prepared to fire.

"The guardians didn't shoot me. Fallen did." Vaxis said softly as he glanced over the top of the tank, his eyes locking on the spot where the shot had come from.

Kilxis spun to look at him in surprise. "What?! How do you know that?!"

"For starters, the guardians don't have rifles with the force to break a Kell's shield in a single shot. Two, I was looking at them when I was shot, I think I would notice if it was them. Third, we are in the territory of the House of Kings." Vaxis said as his eyes narrowed as a flash of movement darted through the distant cluster of rocks. "Also, whoever it is, is still running around."

"Well, then we know who we are going to kill." The female baron responded as she flicked her wire rifle on, allowing a small hum to emanate from the energy cell.

"… If we don't try and kill each other first." Vaxis murmured.

* * *

Cayde, was not happy. Well, actually that was a lie. He was very happy, he just wasn't happy about getting shot at. Well, maybe that was a lie as well. The Exo couldn't remember the last time someone shot at him, and was actually trying to kill him. The sheer adrenaline like surge that rushed through him made the exo smile inside. It was rather difficult to actually smile for him, seeing as he was made entirely out of metal, but he made do. Now however, he was out in the field again, ready to get to work with what Guardians did best. Protecting the light and battling the darkness, and that was what he was good at. He glanced up from his cover to see many of the once hidden Vandals uncloaked and looking around from their ridge, trying to spot the guardians position no doubt. Letting out a sigh, the exo muttered something that sounded like "to good to be true" as he unslung the designated marksman rifle from his back and undid the safety with a small click.

For a brief moment, his thoughts drifted back to the moon, to his misadventure with his one-time ally. The female baron he had encountered trapped behind cover under assault by The Hive. Cayde himself being stuck in the same situation, forced to ally for survival. It had shown him that they didn't have to kill each other, right up until he shot her to put her out of her misery. He always wondered, what if she didn't die at the end, then what? Would they have turned their guns on each other? Or would they have walked away on peaceful terms? Many days it was eating him up, that wondering. Then this happened, the Fallen offered peace between them, almost as if proving his what ifs correct after so many years. Well, most of them, as worst case scenarios showed up in his head all the time.

A small sigh sounded over the com channel and a voice rang through. "Well, it seems we have a problem on our hands." Ikora's voice holding the same half smile it always did, but the all-knowing air was there as well.

"I don't know. I think we just got off on the wrong foot here, maybe we invite them over for a cup of tea, coffee if tea isn't their cup of tea?" Cayde replied smoothly as he peered around the edge of the car he was leaning against.

"Cayde. That was terrible. Even for you." Zavala said, his stern voice floating through the com system. Though the exo knew that his titan comrade was actually grinning and shaking his head, he could bet his left arm on that.

"And yet I know your smiling. I can see it in your voice!"

"If you two are done, our friends the Fallen seem to have reinforcements." Ikora pointed out, causing the two to fall silent and glance at their HUDs, seeing the numerous hostile blips appearing on the motion trackers.

"Well shit."

* * *

"Vaxis, hostiles approaching." Kilxis said as she tilted her head, clearly listening to a report that Vaxis himself could not hear.

"Who?"

"House of Kings. Apparently, the Guardians have attracted them. Clearly trying to have us kill each other so they can escape." The venom in her voice almost palpable. The Kell simply shook his head.

"I doubt it was the Guardians. They didn't shoot me, and now it would seem we have two hostile groups, since you shot at the guardians." The annoyance in his voice causing Kilxis to glare at him and turn away with a huff.

"It doesn't matter. We have to get out of here. I will call in a drop ship to extract us." Kilxis said as she took aim at the entrance to the junkyard. The only easy access being the front.

Vaxis narrowed his eyes, not missing Kilxis' attempt to shift all blame to the guardians. He would need to address this if they both lived through the mess. Regardless, they needed to at least find the guardians and attempt to communicate with them, but first… the matter of the House of Kings needed to be dealt with, and swiftly.

Standing up, the massive Kell towered over most of the metal husks imbedded within the damp earth, and looked around for any signs of movement. The entire area was oddly silent, not even the wildlife made noise. His eyes narrowed and he gripped his blade tighter. A flash of movement caught his eyes, and suddenly shot began to rain down upon him, however his shield had rebooted and easily deflected the shots, the kinetic energy dissipating against it with ease. His eyes narrowed and the Kell leapt over the tank and charged towards the area the shots rained from. The ground seemed to shake under his foot falls as the Fallen leapt over the downed metal carcass of what appeared to be a once proud aerial vehicle. However he found no one behind it, yet he could still see the small dot on the motion tracker imbedded in his helmet. Shifting his gaze, he looked down and frowned, the hatch of this vehicles was open slightly and Vaxis growled deep within his helmet. The blade of his sword hummed with the energy before he lifted it above his head and slammed it down upon the metal frame. The time worn metal had suffered under the elements for an extremely long time, even built to last it had suffered. The blade smashed into the metal, cleaving it down the center as though it was made of air instead of metal.

A surprised yell rang out as the blade cleaved the wreck in two, and he saw a brief flash of cloth and robe as one of the guardians dove out of the way of the blade. Vaxis swung again, completely tearing the top of the vehicle off, a heated molten line wear the blade passed through. However, much to the Kell's surprise, the vehicle was empty, a sudden blip on his motion tracker had him turn around only to see the Guardian he had just been swinging at leap into the air before being surrounded by darkness. Before he even had time to react, a massive bolt of pure energy slammed into him, his shield breaking and causing him to topple over the sliced wreck he had only moments before been destroying. Shaking his head, Vaxis let out a growl and stood back up, shaking his head. His eyes fixed on the Guardian, a warlock he remembered of what he had read about them before. Powers like a machine god, blasphemy on the highest caliber, but he didn't care, he found his bargaining chip.

Getting up with a roar, metal tearing away from the ground as he charged over the hulking wrecks towards the Guardian. The figure turning to run but the Kell was so much faster with his size than the much smaller Guardian he easily caught up. But, much to Vaxis' surprise, in a flash of light the Guardian vanished and was gone. However his motion tracker had no such problem tracking instant movement. A flash of red appearing behind him on the tracker, but before Vaxis could turn, he felt bullets smash into this armor. Growling he spun around, pain flaring up his spine, his nerves on fire from the blunt impact of the rounds.

This was not going as planned.

* * *

Ikora breathed hard as she dodged away from another swing of the massive sword as it cleaved a car in half next to her. Where were Cayde and Zavala!? Cayde had yelled something about getting the sniper and Zavala had open fired on the Fallen on the ridge. She had drawn the short straw of getting noticed by their Kell and having to deal with the consequences. The rounds from her revolver simply bouncing off the Kell's thick armor. She was tempted to fling another void bolt at the Kell, but she felt that would only piss it off even more. Diving behind another car as the blade whispered a hair's breadth past her helmet, her shield deflecting it but at the same time shattering under the force. Breathing hard she prepared to blink away from the massive Fallen. Standing to her feet she took a running start… only to get tackled to the side by another large Fallen. Her hand gun flying out of her fingers and landing elsewhere, but she payed no notice, busy trying to stop her fall to earth. Tumbling to the ground she wound up on her back and drove her knee into its chest only to have a knife slam down next to her head, her shield deflecting it into the ground, though this didn't stop the Fallen's lower arms from starting to reign blows into her stomach. The slow kinetic force easily passing through her shield's detection field and driving the breath out of her. She managed to slam her open palm into the Fallen's stomach, a wave of void energy slamming into it in an attempt to drive it off. The attack worked, sending the creature tumbling off of her and crashing into the ground. Seizing the wire blade she dove at the Fallen in an attempt to cut its throat.

She felt two hands wrap around her wrist and attempt to stop the blade as the Fallen grabbed at her, attempting to throw her off. However, a Guardian's strength matched a Fallen's with ease, and Ikora drove the blade downwards, fighting for ever inch as she attempted to end her attacker. Suddenly a massive blow sent her crashing sideways into a metal wall of crushed wrecks. The impact crushing some of her ribs and causing her to choke as blood pushed its way past her lips. If she lived through this, she was going to kill Cayde and Zavala for leaving her with this mess.

* * *

"Uhh, Zavala, Ikora is getting beat up."

"… and you aren't doing anything because?" The sounds of gunfire easily spilling across the junkyard. From his position Cayde could easily see the form of Zavala marching forwards towards a cluster of rocks where the Fallen were desperately trying to hold off the constant fire from the Titans weapon.

"Because I just got up here, knocked out the sniper, after being shot at by Fallen and running and jumping over cars. You know how hard it is to blink while getting shot at? Let me tell you so you don't have to guess. It's actually not that hard, BUT STILL! Oh, and don't tell Ikora that, the warlocks always get pissy when we talk about doing 'their thing' ok?"

"Cayde, shut up and help Ikora, I am dealing with the Fallen squad."

"… Point taken."

Cayde-6 raised the wire rifle he had taken from the now unconscious Fallen, he couldn't help but take note of the colors. Gold and yellow instead of the blue of the House of Winter. Problems, and not just for them, but for the Kell as well. Whoever had sold them out was Fallen, and if that was the case, the Kell wasn't to blame, as he had been the one getting shot at in the first place. The scope fixed on the form of the Kell as it picked up Ikora and apparently started screaming something in their hard tongue at her. He didn't have time to wonder what it was, instead he took aim and squeezed the trigger with clockwork reflex. The single blast of energy hummed out of the rifle, creating a brief flash of light and a small cracking sound like lightning. The beam struck the Kell's upper shoulder, shattering his shield and forcing him backwards, causing Ikora to drop back to the ground. A second shot followed the first, tearing into the Kell's upper shoulder and causing it to howl in pain. However, the other Fallen who was with the Kell immediately open fired on him, his position being compromised the moment he had made the shot. Cayde ducked behind the rock cluster overlooking the junkyard and swore under his breath. He just hoped Ikora had the good sense to run.

Cayde hefted the rifle back up and took aim again, however before he could pull the trigger, he heard the voice of his Ghost speaking calmly in his ear. "You might not want to shoot it. I have an idea."

"Hey, if it stops big, mean and ugly from trying to tear us in half, be my guest."

"Just see if you can get it's attention."

* * *

Vaxis would say his day was going poorly, not that would be an understatement. His day was terrible. He was going to smash every wire rifle on their ship after this, so help him he would do it. Those damn things hurt more than getting hit with a warlock's void powers. Though he blamed that on all the drugs pumping through his system currently. He had wanted to simply stop the warlock from moving and have whatever they called their drones translate to stop shooting. However, the moment he started running, he could feel his vision tunnel. All that mattered was getting the Guardian, if that involved impaling it on the end of his blade… that worked just fine. Whatever was changing his current form was affecting his head, making him hyper aggressive. He had every intention of squeezing the life out of the guardian as he wrapped his hand around her neck, engulfing it and beginning to clamp down hard. He wanted to hear the bones snap, the muscles tear, the blood drip down his hands. He wanted death, and he would have it, he would have it in spades.

"Hey ugly! Chill!" A voice rang out.

A sudden spasm of pain rocketed up his arm causing him to scream in pain and drop the guardian as he gripped his shoulder, a shot of molten plasma having ripped through his armor, burning a hole deep into his flesh. Half burned, half torn his flesh bled freely. The crimson fluid dripped down his fingers as he grasped at the wound, holding it shut before glaring around for the source of his pain. He spotted another guardian, rifle pointed at him, and suddenly the world went silent. He could feel the blood coursing through his body, pumping out of the torn flesh, his vision swam with pain, hallucinogenic style visions, and pure rage. Was this what it meant to be Kell? To hold this rage in check…? He would likely fail.

Vaxis let out a blood curdling roar that caused the guardian to visibly wince and grasp at its helmet. But before the Fallen's thoughts had caught up with his body, he was moving. Heavy footfalls dragging him towards his target like a thing possessed. The massive blade held behind him, ready to swing forward with his full momentum and cleave body and flesh. A sudden flash and his target had vanished, causing him to whip around and twist his neck trying to find his prey. The small guardian would make such a fine stain on the ground.

The sudden blow to the back of his skull caused Vaxis to stumble forward hissing in pain. He swung his blade widely behind him, not caring if it struck anything, pain being the only thing he felt, and a burning rage. He shook his head and looked up, only to be met face to face with a small hovering device, shaped… exactly like a guardian ghost.

For a fraction of a second, Vaxis stopped in his made rampage to stare at the thing, and in the split second it spoke. "We did not shoot you."

The Fallen stared at the machine, his drug addled brain fighting with trying to understand the words spoken in the mechanical mockery of his tongue, the other half trying to send the nerve commands that would have him crush the tiny machine in his bare hands.

Vaxis roared and raised his sword up with the intent of cleaving the tiny machine in half. But before he could do so much as start to bring the blade down, the small device let loose a flash of light, Vaxis dropping his sword with a growl as his vision became nothing but white and a ringing filled both his ears and coms. A strange warmth flooded through him, and his head began to swim even more. The Fallen swayed on his feet before slipping backwards and collapsing backwards into the cool embrace of unconsciousness, all the while a feeling of unknowable warmth filled him. Before he could even understand what it was, his mind went black, and all was darkness.

* * *

**So that's it for this chapter. I am terrible, cause I love cliffhangers, does that make me a bad person? It does doesn't it. Man, im horrible. I shall sit in the corner of terrible people along with Matt Ward, Hitler, and the inventor of writers block. Yes. Anyways, I jumped perspective several times to try that out and see how it works. I hope it isn't to hard to keep up with or if it breaks up the flow. I might go back to writing it from only Cayde and Vaxis' perspective if its too jumpy. Anyways, hopefully I will have this chapter up sooner X_X' need to stop being horrible with updates, but its so BLEH! Anyways... Im out. -flies away-**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, it has been a while hasn't it? Im not going to bother making up some excuse about being busy or anything because I simply stopped writing for a while. It went on the back burner and almost never got looked back into. But recently I noticed people were still following and favorting this little thing I made. So I figured, what the hell, why not keep going? After all we got all this new lore on the fallen, the darkness, motherfucking Oryx! Hot damn, lots of stuff to write about. I even got a timeline set up. As this happens before Crota and the House of Wolves, and will follow along with the events that unfold all the way until we reach Siva. So long as I keep up with this, which I will try to do. Anyways enjoy. **

* * *

Things were not looking good. Though that was understandable from where Kilxis stood. Or in this case crouched, hunched over, holding the bleeding wound in her side with her lower right arm. Blood wept through the crumpled armor and the fingers desperately clutching at torn flesh. Pain shot through her body as she shook with spasms. The baron winced and ground her fang like teeth before sucking in a breath and moving from behind her make shift cover. The wreckage of some massive stone pipe of sorts had been good for something she supposed. This scrap yard was getting on her nerves however. The snow most of all. She hated the cold.

Kilxis could hear the sounds of gunfire, and not just of the guardians, but of fallen weapons as well. 'To many shots.' She mused internally as her vision swam for a moment as the pain threatened to overwhelm her senses. They had only brought a single squad with them. Vaxis, damn fool that he was, had insisted on not bringing to many soldiers lest the guardians believe they meant to attack them. When she got her hands on Vaxis she was going to show him exactly how idiotic he was, and what a mistake it had been to make him kell. She was regretting it with every painful breath.

The source of the gunfire was becoming apparent as the comm squawked with the chatter of her vandals. The large guardian, the one in the heavy armor, a titan was firing on them and nothing they did seemed to be able to dent it. The baron cursed and glanced around for any sort of elevated ground. She needed to be able to see. She had only a rough idea where her vandals were and something else was bothering her. She couldn't see Vaxis and that worried her. He was massive, and should have been the first thing she noticed, but she couldn't spot him anywhere, and the sounds of the fallen weapon fire had her on edge. 'There are to many shots.' The thought continued to play through her mind. Finally she made up her mind and took a breath before starting to scramble up onto the husk of some sort of hollow transport vehicle. It had many seats in it, and metal bars. She couldn't fathom this guardian transport, but now wasn't the time for that. It was a wreck anyways.

The comm hissed as she attempted to activate it and realized with a growl that it had been damaged when she was grappling with that blasted Warlock. The damn heretic had smashed her armor in and damaged her blasted communication. She could hear well enough, though it came in garbled at times, but it seemed she had no way to contact anyone or give orders. Kilxis wanted to scream. So she did, long and full of pain and anger and it drew a few looks she could tell as a number of shots stopped before starting back up as the shooters continued their onslaught.

Every single movement was agony but she continued to move even as her body screamed at her to stop. Blood slicked the hand she held to the wound but that didn't stop her. She didn't have the luxury of stopping, not at the moment anyways. Things had gone bad, and she needed information if she were going to be able to do anything. And where was the drop ship? She would skin the dregs responsible for its delay personally! Starting with Vaxis!

It took all of her effort to climb up the scrapped transport, the rusted metal giving slightly in some areas as her bulk clambered upwards. The folds of her cape kept snagging on loose metal and ripping, though the baron paid it no mind. It wasn't the first time her equipment had been damaged. She also doubted that it would be the last. Finally, she managed to get atop the hulk of metal and observed the field below her. From her vantage point she was finally able to pinpoint where her squad currently was. Trapped behind what appeared to be some sort of aircraft, based on the wings it seemed to sport, and were under constant fire by the titan as it walked towards them like judgment itself.

Growling, Kilxis collapsed to one knee and shuddered. Her arms were starting to feel cold, the ends of her fingers tingled oddly. It was bad, she knew what blood loss felt like. She would need medical care, and soon, or she knew that she would pass out. The armor could keep her alive for a short while, but it was no long term solution. However, she didn't have the time to worry about that, two things needed to happen. She needed to assist her squad, and she needed to figure out where Vaxis was, so she could shove her sword through his moronic skull, and drag him back to the ship in pieces so they could salvage something of this horrible mission. The rifle on her back felt immensely heavy as she slung off her shoulder and she had to stop herself from collapsing as she attempted to hold it steady.

The sight wavered back and forth as her ragged breathing made aiming difficult but she finally managed to get it still enough to find her target and fire a quick volley of shots towards the titan. None of them hit, her body simply wasn't in the shape it needed to be to aim. But the shots did distract the titan long enough for her vandals to open fire and force it to duck behind a large pile of bent and twisted metal. Kilxis would have grinned and lined up another shot had her body not finally given out and her knee went out from under her. Her helmet smashed into the metal below her and jarred her teeth, she could taste blood in her mouth and knew she had bitten the inside of her own mouth from the impact. Swearing softly, the Baron weakly glanced around and pulled her rifle back towards her, laying on her stomach to have any hope of aiming. This was bad, she could see blood starting to pool under her, even as she tried to remain as still as possible.

Slowly she scanned the area around her, ignoring the cold that was starting to creep into her body. She knew this area of the planet was cold, but the armor should have insulated her, and no cold she had ever felt was this bone chilling. A flash of movement grabbed her attention and she focused in on it. It took her a moment to realize what she was looking at was the cloaked guardian and one of the small drones they always had with them. However what made her seethe was that they were standing over the collapsed form of Vaxis. The massive body could be no one else. She flicked a switch on the rifle and felt it hum as the charge built to almost dangerous levels. Shield or not, this shot would tear through most anything. And she aimed it straight for the guardian's cowl covered head.

* * *

Cayde was trying to figure out what exactly he had just witnessed, and it was something he couldn't exactly figure out. As a result he was simply standing there dumbly and watching as his ghost scanned the now unconscious? Dead? Body of the kell. "Did you… kill a kell?" He asked the ghost as it continued its scans.

"Hmm? No, why in the world would I kill him?' Castle responded without a pause in its rapid scans.

"Because, said kell is currently laying on the ground, not moving. And I don't know how you did that. He was also trying to kill Ikora. And me, and I'm sure Zavala would have been next on the list." Cayde retorted with what would be a frown if his facial structures allowed for the proper range of movements needed for that to occur. Sometimes being made of metal wasn't all-good. "What did you do?"

"If we are being honest I am not even completely certain what just happened myself. Something just… came over me." The small ghost zipped back and forth as it examined the unconscious kell.

Cayde wanted to bang his head on something, preferably until the world started making sense again. "Then wha-" He was cut off by Zavala suddenly barking at him over his comm.

"CAYDE! DUCK!" Zavala boomed through the comm.

Years of working with the vanguard had taught Cayde two things. The first, Ikora always, ALWAYS cheated at cards. She was worse than that damn bowman. The second was that Zavala never made jokes. So when he yelled at him to duck, Cayde instantly dropped to the ground. Just in time for two very odd things to happen. The space where Cayde had previously occupied suddenly hummed, as the oxygen in the air was super heated by the energy passing through it. And the stealthed vandal that had been about to impale Cayde from behind slammed into the ground. The majority of its chest and upper rights shoulder missing from the shot that had ripped through it. The creature let out a garbled rasping choke before it moved no more. The smell of scorched flesh rapidly filled the air around them, and Cayde was reminded of why he loved their helmets having filters.

The Exo hunter was so caught up investigating what had been happening with the Kell he hadn't even noticed the red blips on his HUD until they were about to make him into a Cayde-kabob. 'Oh that's a good one, I should write that one down for future.' He thought as quickly scanned the area from his position in the dirt. Once he saw he wasn't about to be stabbed, or shot for that matter, he rolled over behind the Kell using it as makeshift cover. Hopefully the other fallen wouldn't risk shooting their leader to get him. He glanced at the dead vandal and frowned. It bore the gold coloring of the house of kings. Meaning it was one of the advanced scouts. The main force would be there soon.

He tapped his comm and checked to make sure it still worked before speaking rapidly. "Zav, you got incoming. House of kings most likely. Stealthed. Watch your back." He didn't get a reply, but he heard gunfire.

Hearing the sounds of rapid pulse fire as Zavala's auto-rifle open fire on a large bus nearby, Cayde watched as a large Fallen rolled off of it and collapsed on the ground before dragging itself behind cover. The damn thing had been trying to shoot him! The nerve! Here they were trying to help these ingrates and the first thing he got for his troubles was being used for target practice. "Thanks for the heads up Zav, if you hadn't caught that I would be needing a new head completely. And despite what some people may say, we cannot function without a head. We have tried. Doesn't work. Just saying."

Zavala's grunt came as expected. "I don't care about your jokes right now Cayde. Where is Ikora?"

The Exo glanced around before quickly running over to the downed guardian. He checked to see if she was still breathing and let out a sigh of relief when he found that she was just unconscious. Her body had already started to repair itself and he could see that whatever damage she had taken was quickly regenerating. He knelt next to her prone form and poked her helmet a few times. "Ikora. Wake up."

Nothing.

He poked again. "Ikora~" He said in a sing song voice. "I'm going to use your arcane tomes as a cup coasters."

Ikora Ray shot up and gasped as her body hunched in pain, the damage to her ribs not having been fully repaired. "Cayde, if you DARE to-" Cayde cut her off with a wave.

"Yeah, yeah, you will rain fire and darkness down on me and use my metal remains to train the arc wielders, I KNOW. Save it. We got to help Zavala. The kings are here, and the winter house is less than pleased with us." He gestured at the downed kell.

"And… we got this guy here." Ikora blinked.

"You took down their kell?" She sounded like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

To his credit Cayde had the nerve to be offended. "Hey! I am the hunter vanguard, give me some credit!" He even folded his arms as if to show how offended he clearly was. Castle picked that moment to chime in. "Actually he just stood there while one of my subroutines disabled the kell. I am not certain exactly which one however. It was designed by the Traveler and I have no access to it."

"Castle! Come on! I was trying to play it up!" Cayde cried out in disbelief at being sold out by his own ghost. The little machine simply blinked at him. Or did what he assumed was blinking as the lens in the center did a swift shift.

Ikora however seemed to miss Cayde's exclamation of heroics and was more focused on the kell. "You say a subroutine that the Trawler implemented did this?"

"Yes, though again. I have no idea what it was, or what it did. I have no record of it within my systems, nor can I access the area within my system where I believe it to be located. It is like it doesn't exist, yet I know it does." The small ghost explained as it hovered around Cayde's shoulder.

Ikora tapped at her helmet for a moment before seeming to nod. "This, this requires furtherer investigation. Do you think we can get the kell back to the tower? In one piece, and alive mind."

The ghost let out a hum before projecting a display before them. "We have transport available to the tower from here. Though I do no believe the system is calibrated to handle a… That's odd." Castle said suddenly as it observed the coding that allowed for them to transport and materialize elsewhere.

"What is." Cayde asked as he poked the unmoving kell with his boot.

The ghost was silent for a moment. "The kell is programed into the transport system." Cayde and Ikora stared at the small floating AI.

Cayde was the first to react. "Uhhhh… what?"

Ikora rolled her eyes at Cayde's amazingly intelligent reponse and focused back on the ghost. "How?"

"I am unsure. He simply is. He even has a designation. Similar to the guardian's verification, though it is in the Fallen tongue. Lord Vaxis, Kell of the House of Winter. Ketch Master of Carrion's Feast. " Castle replied as it displayed the designation within the elaborate system the guardians used for teleportation to, and from the tower, as well as their ships.

Ikora's frown could be felt through her helmet. "Are you telling me that this fallen is a guardian?" The very idea was beyond insane.

"A guardian? No, I do not detect light within the kell, none of the indicators of a guardian's power either. No, whatever happened to this 'Lord Vaxis', he isn't a guardian. But he is in our transport system. The only thing that can alter the transportation system at will is the Traveler. " The ghost seemed troubled, though it was difficult to tell, they often had very neutral voices.

Zavala broke up the conversation by speaking up over the comm. "I heard all of that. However we will have to deal with it later. If we take the kell back to the tower it will be impossible for it to do any damage. The sheer number of guardians would crush it instantly. And I just spotted a drop ship, two actually. One has the marks of winter; the other belongs to the kings. We need to leave, now."

"You heard him Castle, beam me up." Cayde said with a thumb up as he grabbed ahold of the kell's massive form with one arm and did his best to hold onto the massive Fallen.

Ikora frowned but didn't say anything, her curiosity over what had occurred overriding any safety concerns she might have had. Opting instead to grab ahold of the Kell as well, hoping that their combined efforts might make any transportation easier. She needn't have bothered. Within a moment the familiar gut churning rush of rapid movement engulfed her and Cayde, and they vanished in a flash of light, the Kell vanishing with them.

* * *

Kilxis watched in horror from her hiding place as the Guardian's vanished in flashes of light. The robed one that Vaxis had kicked had been standing back up as if nothing was the matter, and here she was, bleeding to death. It made her growl, the sheer failure of this situation was unfair. Their kell was gone, captured or killed by the Guardians. And the enemy hadn't even suffered losses. She was about to bark out an order to kill everything in sight but something distracted her, the sudden feeling of lightheadedness that threatened to send her toppling over. However the sounds over her comm snapped her back to reality, and let her know two things as she stared at where the guardians had been. The first was that their own drop ship had arrived, and the second was that they needed to leave now, as the king's own drop ship was due to arrive at any moment.

One of her vandals rushed over to her and helped her lip towards the ship before they were rapidly dematerialized and drawn into the hanger of the vandals and dregs moving about the hanger instantly rushed towards them and she could see one of her fellow barons making their way towards her and her squad. Kilxis proceeded to collapse onto the ground, her vision dark as her many eyes raced about in her sockets, trying to understand what had happened. Vaguely she could hear a familiar booming voice barking orders before she felt herself being lifted and carried. A face swam into view as her vision shifted.

"Tyranis?" She asked weakly as the old Baron looked down at her, his multiple eyes tracing over her damaged armor and wounds.

He shook his head. "Don't speak, you lost to much blood. You need treatment, now. "

However she couldn't just lay there without telling him. She HAD to tell him what happened. With a strength she didn't realize she still had she seized the clasp of his cloak and dragged him to her face until there were only a hand's breadth apart. "They. Took. Our. Kell." Tyranis blinked all of his eyes once, and nodded. Kilxis collapsed back down onto whatever was being used to carry her. A stretcher she supposed.

In the background she could faintly hear Tyranis barking a single order. "Gather the ketches, we move to The City. We will show the guardians the folly of taking the lord of winter."

Darkness filled her vision, and she knew no more.

* * *

**Well alrighty then. Thats it for the very start of things, and the end to the action for the moment. Things will get very... errr, explainy before long. As I need to hash out alot of details, as well as figure out a way for the exposition to happen in a way that feels semi organic. Anyways, if you enjoyed feel free to say so. Any critism is welcome, and comments are appreciated. The next chapter should be out before the end of the month. I hope.(Edit. I spell checked it, so it should all be fixed now. Hopefully.)  
**


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